Fishsticks and Raccoons
by ElectricGreen13
Summary: Jax Foster: SHIELD agent and Avenger. - When Jax’s mortal enemy targets her best friend, Ida Emerson, Jax and her fellow Avengers must figure out a way to protect Ida from the clutches of a violent madman. But something even more sinister lurks beneath the surface... BuckyxOC and BrucexOC. Joint story with riboflavinb2
1. 0- The New Client

_**Read First:**_

 _TL;DR : SHIELD's existence is a secret from the general public. Story occurs post-CA:WinterSoldier, but SHIELD still exists and Fury is still Director._

 _Details : When SHIELD "fell" (in CA: Winter Soldier), the government just covered it up and told the public that a criminal organization known as Hydra infiltrated a handful of government intelligence agencies (FBI, CIA, Homeland, etc) and just hid the fact that it was actually SHIELD. Afterward, the government allowed Fury to restart SHIELD from the ground up after ensuring Hydra was totally flushed out. Thus, __Fury is still Director, and SHIELD's existence remains a secret from the general public._

 _Also, Jax Foster has no relation whatsoever to the character Jane Foster. That just accidentally happened._

 _This story is co-written with riboflavinb2. Go check out her stories!_

 _I do not own any characters except Ida and Jax. All rights belong to Marvel._

 _Now, full speed ahead!_

* * *

 **Prologue \- The New Client**

The man stood in the agreed-upon meeting place, muscles tense with annoyance. He really hated it when these dickbags made him wait.

Finally a dark SUV pulled up (bulletproof based on how low it was riding) and an older, well-dressed man stepped out. His new client.

The client gave no greeting, just pulled a file from his briefcase and handed it over. "We would like you to acquire this."

Taking the file, he briefly glanced through everything it enclosed then gave a grunt of acknowledgment. "I assume you have some idea of where I should start my search?"

The old man nodded. "During that Hydra fiasco in DC last year, we took advantage of SHIELD's vulnerability and hacked a number of their systems. The data that we acquired not only confirmed the existence of the item itself, but also led us to the identity of who we suspect is most likely its safe-keeper." The client then pulled out another file and handed it to him. "We heard you that you have some...history with the individual in question. So consider this an early payment."

The man was about to warn him that, special file or not, they still had to pay him half beforehand, as was the usual arrangement, but the words died in his throat as he opened the file. His mouth curled into a feral grin. Early payment, indeed.

It was her. The only person he considered to be a formidable adversary, and probably the closest thing he had to an equal. She had many aliases among the criminal and intelligence worlds, having built herself quite the reputation. But, as with many in their line of work, no one knew her true identity.

The last time he'd crossed paths with her had been a year ago in Greece, when she'd practically gutted him. He would never forget how it felt running through the streets of Santorini, barely able to keep his own organs from spilling out onto the pristine alabaster ground. To this day, it was the closest he'd ever come to death. Thinking about it made the jagged scar across his stomach start to throb.

It was finally time to return the favor.

Because now, he knew her name.


	2. 1- See You Soon

_A/N: Everything except Ida and Jax belong to Marvel._

 _Co-written with riboflavinb2._

 _I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading._

* * *

Ida Emerson of Brooklyn, New York was getting real sick of the quarantined cephalopod-escape-artist. Already, the octopus had fled his tank four times and ended up in various dark corners of the aquarium's back rooms. It was quite tiring tracking him down all the time, but what choice did Ida have? The octopus had to be found.

Ida was searching the turtle habitat for the devil when she heard her phone buzz. She hoped it was Jax. Her best friend was in Santa Monica or wherever-the-fuck for yet another business trip. It was the third one this month. Ida knew pharmaceutical salesmen were busy, but couldn't Jax take a few seconds to send Ida a freaking text?

Ida plunged her hand into her blazer pocket and yanked her cell phone from within its depths.

It was not, in fact, a text. But rather an email from The Correll Center for Aquatic Animal Health. She'd look at it later. She reached for her necklace out of habit, and fingered the small shark fin charm Jax gave to her years ago. She wore the necklace everyday.

But back to the finding the octopus.

* * *

0400.

Jackie "Jax" Foster looked around at the crumbling buildings of the rural Syrian village, browns and grays blurring together in the haze of the afternoon sun. A group of extremists had been using the area as a base while they amassed a stockpile of dangerous high-tech weaponry.

Which was why Jax currently had sand in places sand should never be.

Why did so many criminals do their dirty work in blistering desert regions? What happened to the good old days when bad guys did their business out of lavish villas on tropical peninsulas? Give her a James Bond villain any day.

This group had been on SHIELD's radar for awhile now, but their whereabouts were unknown up until a few days ago, when they'd received intel from an agent that was undercover nearby.

And (because the universe never made things easy) the village was full of innocent Syrian locals that would no doubt become collateral damage if SHIELD sent in a full tactical team or attempted any kind of standard raid procedures. The extremist group had to be taken down quickly and efficiently, before they even realized that they were under attack. Zero chance to retaliate.

So SHIELD sent its best.

Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Jax Foster.

The spider, the hawk, and the shark. Or as they were otherwise known: Strike Team Delta.

Jax, Clint, and Nat had arrived in Syria a week ago. After being airdropped a few clicks away, the trio had traveled to the village on foot and spent two days surveilling the village as a whole, then the next four days surveilling the extremist group and their base.

They'd finally made their move in the early morning of day seven, while most of the men were asleep. It took them about two hours to take down the almost thirty insurgents. Nothing too difficult, especially for Strike Team Delta. And after fighting Chitauri aliens in New York a few years ago, eliminating a terrorist group felt like a walk in the park.

After they'd finished taking the base, Nat had radioed for the SHIELD team waiting on standby in a nearby town. An hour later, the place was crawling with black-clad agents tasked with clean-up. They handled the locals, collected and secured all the weapons, and prepped the terrorist members (those that had survived the earlier fight) to be transported to a SHIELD facility for interrogation.

Jax nodded to a few familiar agents as she headed for the quinjet, trudging onboard up the back ramp. Clint was already in the pilot's chair, adjusting the controls as he prepared for takeoff.

"Where's Nat?" Jax asked, roughly plopping into the co-pilot seat next to him.

"She's on the phone with Fury to get the okay to head home."

Jax groaned. "We better get the okay. I miss my bed!"

Clint grimaced. "You and me both, kid. If I have to spend another night on a rotted cot, I might put an arrow in myself."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Jax laughed and headed back to one of the metal benches, but not before pulling her cell phone out of the hidden compartment in her mission bag. She laid down and waited for the phone to boot back to life.

Heavy footsteps clunked up the ramp and Jax lifted her head to see Natasha finally coming onboard.

"We're good to go." Nat told her before she could even ask.

Jax mentally filed that away as further proof that Nat could read minds (a long-standing theory of hers). The redhead took her spot as co-pilot next to Clint, and within minutes they were in the air.

Jax opened up her phone and immediately went to messages.

"Hey Clint, what time do you think we'll get back to the tower?" she asked.

"With clear skies?" Clint checked the console for the current New York time. "Around 1pm."

Perfect. Jax quickly typed up a text.

 **BAE! I'm finally headed home! I missed your face. Late lunch? 3PM? :)**

Pressing send, Jax closed her eyes and tried to get a few hours of decent rest.

* * *

"Miss Emerson, I think I found him!" Johnny called from the otter quarantine.

Ida hoped the young intern had really found him. She had at least twenty things to prepare for the day, including the latest batch of dilute ammonium hydroxide for the research project the aquarium was sponsoring. Not to mention, she hadn't even gotten to feed her cichlids yet, and that was obviously the best part of her day.

Ida rushed to the otter quarantine, brushing past several unused tanks and buckets. She saw Johnny in the back of the room, his gaze firmly planted on the ceiling above him.

Oh, shit. That really only meant one thing.

Inky, the devilish Giant Pacific Octopus was suctioned to the ceiling like something from a Mission Impossible movie. Totally ridiculous. And also totally cool. She hoped that when cephalopods finally took over the world that they would remember how much she loved her mollusk overlords.

"Well, ain't that something?" Ida said. She wished she had worn practical clothing this morning, instead of her khaki pantsuit. In her casual aquarium polo and shorts, she wouldn't have hesitated to hop on a nearby ladder and wrench the squishy body from its hiding spot. But in her nice pantsuit? Forget it.

"What do we do?" Little Johnny asked. Ida internally chuckled at his inexperience.

"We get him down, clearly. Go grab Robert or Sylvia and help get Mr. Inky back to his tank. I'm not exactly dressed for this occasion."

Johnny nodded. "You got it, boss." The intern left the room, presumably in search of one of the other aquarium keepers, while Ida and Inky stayed put.

"Inky, you've become a real thorn in my side. Can't you just stay in your tank for a little while? Just until I actually get some work done?"

Ida felt her phone buzz in her pocket for the second time that morning. She expected it was just another email, but checked just on the happenstance that it was Jax.

 **Bae! I'm finally headed home! I missed your face. Late lunch? 3PM? :)**

Ida smiled and quickly typed back a reply.

 **You mean you're finally free of all the druggies? I'll have to cancel my lunch date with hottie accountant, but I guess you're worth it. Come meet me at the aquarium. We'll walk over to DiMaggio's together.**

Now Ida _really_ wished she'd been wearing more comfortable clothing. The pantsuit she'd worn for her date was worthless now. Ida sighed. She would definitely have to yell at Jax for that.

As soon as Johnny returned with Sylvia, Ida ventured off to the freshwater tanks. She wanted to feed her cichlids before she cancelled on the accountant. He'd probably be pissed, but Ida hardly cared. There's always more fish in the sea, right?

* * *

The quinjet touching down on the landing pad of Avengers tower, jolting Jax awake.

"Wake up sleepyfin," Clint called from the cockpit. "We're here."

"Very funny, birdbrain." Jax yawned, stretching her stiff limbs. "I'm awake. Could've done with forty more hours though."

"I'll take eighty." Natasha mumbled, already gathering her things.

To most people, Strike Team Delta probably seemed as awake, alert, and attentive as ever, always at peak performance. But having been a team for three years now, they noticed the signs of weariness in each other, such as Jax's minuscule body tremor, Clint's tense, stifled yawns, and Natasha's millisecond-slower reaction time. They'd taken to calling it PMB: Post-Mission Burnout.

Each of the them recovered from PMB in their own way. Natasha liked to visit her favorite cafe and spend hours with a new book and a chai latte. Clint preferred the classic gorge-and-crash method (inhaling an ungodly amount of food then sleeping for about fifteen hours). Jax herself had a simple but effective two-step process: taking a boiling hot shower, then spending time with her best friend.

Jax checked her phone to discover that Ida had responded to her text a while ago.

 **You mean you're finally free of all the druggies? I'll have to cancel my lunch date with hottie accountant, but I guess you're worth it. Come meet me at the aquarium. We'll walk over to DiMaggio's together.**

Hell yes, just what Jax needed. Grinning, she typed out her reply.

 **I'll take anything that isn't airplane food lol. And whaaaat he finally asked you out? I expect all the details! Sounds like a plan, see you then.**

Jax spent the next thirty minutes unloading equipment, supplies, and weapons from the quinjet with Nat and Clint. Once finished, they all grabbed their bags and piled into the elevator, Nat directing Jarvis to take them each to their individual living quarters.

Avengers tower had ninety-seven floors in all (because no one ever accused Tony of restraint) and Level 33 through 45 housed all the private quarters. Each of these floors had its own massive bedroom and bathroom, but everything else (i.e. kitchen, living room, laundry machines) was on other levels. It was like living in a luxury college dorm built for rich celebrities.

When rebuilding the tower, Tony had designed it so that each of the Avengers had their own personalized floor, along with a few extra residence levels for any kind of guests. Jax's room was Level 42, right between Cap and Tony.

The elevator dropped Clint off before taking Jax down to her floor. Shifting the duffel bag strap on her shoulder, Jax bid Natasha goodbye and stepped out.

God, it felt good to be home.

Jax immediately dropped her duffel to the floor and did a running dive onto her bed. Her sigh was muffled against the fluffy mountain of pillows, and it was oh-so-tempted to just curl up under the covers and pass out (and if it was anybody but Ida, that's exactly what she'd do). She breathed in the familiar scents, blissfully happy to be on her own bed, a real bed, instead of a dusty cot. Jax lavished in comfort for a few more minutes before finally dragging herself over to the bathroom. If she was going to be seen in public, she first needed to scrub the seven layers of desert off her body.

Jax peeled off the grimy black tactical outfit and tossed it into the basket labeled 'Super Laundry'. All of the Avengers had two laundry baskets: Normal Laundry and Super Laundry. It was a system that Tony implemented after the Battle of New York, thanks to an incident with an exploding washer, ruined armor, and a very upset Norse god. Now any and all mission clothing went straight into what had jokingly been named 'Super Laundry'.

Jax padded naked into her pristine bathroom, one of her favorite places in the tower. She eyed the marble bathtub before deciding she definitely didn't have time and instead turned the shower handle to the hottest possible setting and stepped into the scalding water.


	3. 2- Meet Bucky Barnes

_A/N: Everything except Ida and Jax belong to Marvel._

 _Co-written with riboflavinb2._

Let me know what you think of her hero codename, I was kinda torn about it.

 _I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading._

* * *

 **Ch 2 - Meet Bucky Barnes**

At 12 o'clock exactly, Ida received a text from Clark Mills.

 **Ida, I'm waiting outside by the ticket booth. You ready?**

The aquarist mentally facepalmed. She had forgotten to cancel the date with the accountant. Jesus Christ, Ida, get it together.

Well, now she'd have to go with him. Great. Maybe she could make some excuse to cut the lunch short.

Ida quickly typed out a reply and leapt towards the employee bathrooms to gussy up and slather on some lipstick. When she looked in the mirror, she questioned how she even left her apartment that morning.

Her hair was falling out of her bun, her eyeliner was uneven, and there were dark circles under her eyes that resembled a black hole. Oh well. At least her characteristic green eyeshadow was as vibrant as always.

Ida ripped her dark blonde hair from the bun and shook it out, trying to tease it towards the roots. She swiped some nude lipstick across her lips and dabbed some on her cheeks, blending it for some makeshift blush.

Feeling significantly more confident with her appearance, Ida left the restroom, waved to a couple of her teammates on her way to the front gate, and told them she'd be back soon.

Clark Mills was the type of attractive that made Ida feel like her skin was on fire everytime she saw him. He had a jaw that could slice butter and the body of the godliest Greek god she could dream up. He may have been a boring conversational partner, but what did that matter when his body could speak for him?

"Hey, Clark," Ida waved to the man.

"Ida. Good to see you. Where would you like to go to lunch?" No frills in his language, that was for sure.

"I was thinking we could go the coffee shop around the corner. It turns out I'm needed back at work in about thirty minutes, so we may have to cut the date a bit short. Is that okay with you?" Ida didn't apologize. She never apologized to men. Apologies give the man all the control. She learned that years ago.

"It certainly isn't ideal, but I guess we can work around it," the accountant smiled to let Ida know it was a joke. Not the greatest humor, but again, he didn't need humor with a body like that.

The pair headed to the coffee shop, making small talk on the way there. Clark complemented Ida's appearance. Ida laughed and said the overwhelming fish smell probably ruined her look most of the time.

At the coffee shop, Ida ordered a turkey croissant and a berry smoothie, allowed Clark to pay for her food after he insisted he should, and sat at a table nearest the door. He sat across from her.

"So, Ida, tell me a little more about yourself," Clark said.

Ida hated this question. It was super bland. She wanted to talk about the ethical implications of zoos, what life on other planets looks like, if wearing white after Labor Day mattered.

"Well, I grew up here in Brooklyn. Had two parents. My mom was a bit of a Flower Child, and my dad...wasn't. I've always loved fish and I used to beg my mom to take me to the aquarium every weekend. Fast forward a trillion years and what do you know? I ended up working for the very aquarium I used to visit." Ida paused for a second and smiled conspiratorially. She leaned in towards Clark and raised an eyebrow. "If you were stuck in Jurassic Park and you had your choice of weapons to defend yourself, what would you pick?"

Clark looked unimpressed and unaltered. It was a weird question, Ida knew, but she was just trying to a get a reaction from her date. He gave her none.

Clark simply shrugged. "I've never seen Jurassic Park."

Ida's jaw dropped as a waitress stopped by and dropped their food at the table.

"You've never seen Jurassic Park? Are you kidding me? It's a cinematic masterpiece!"

"No. I was never a huge watcher of movies."

"Then you're just not watching the right ones! That does it, Clark. You're coming up to my apartment tonight and you're watching Jurassic Park with me."

Mission accomplished. She'd have the man right where she wanted him. Alone and on her territory. There was no way he could deny her. Not when she was so willing.

Clark smiled. He was picking up what she was putting down.

Ida pressed the Home button on her phone, and watched as her phone illuminated the time. She had to go.

"Great," Ida said. "I'll see you at, say, 8 o'clock?" Ida picked up the pristine turkey croissant and the smoothie, and stood up from the table. "Gotta run, Clark Mills. Those fish can't swim without me." She bent down to his level and planted a firm kiss on his smooth cheek. Drawing back from his face, she whispered, "Thanks for the lunch."

With that, Ida left the cafe - eating the sandwich on the way - to continue her shift at the aquarium. Now that her date was over, she could finally change into reasonable clothing. And then the real party would begin when Jax got here.

* * *

Jax _finally_ finished blow-drying the thick dark mass that she called hair and immediately checked the time.

1430.

Shit! She had to hurry.

Jax quickly dabbed some concealer on the bags under her eyes, and put on a bit of mascara. She made herself stop and assess the new bumps and bruises starting to appear on her skin, then she covered them with makeup as best she could. She'd caught an elbow to the jaw during the fight earlier and it was already turning a lovely shade of blackish-purple.

Walking into her closet, Jax quickly shimmied into a pair of dark jeans from off the floor and threw on a slouchy gray shirt overtop, plus a long necklace. She slipped on her old combat boots, tucking a handful of throwing knives into them, before finally securing her KA-BAR (her favorite combat knife) into its hidden sheath on the back of her waistband.

Jax _always_ had some kind of blade on her person; she felt totally naked without. (Knife combat was her expertise after all.) She had nothing against guns, obviously, she used them all the time, and she certainly couldn't deny that their longer range was optimal. But nothing set her soul on fire like the feeling of cold steel in her hand. Knives were versatile, direct; an extension of the body.

Jax eyed her small .380 pistol for a long moment but then realized that was probably overkill, she was just going out to eat with Ida. Grabbing her bag, she looked around for her favorite black leather jacket, the one she rarely went anywhere without. What the hell, where is it? She quickly searched all the usual places but came up empty.

Dammit. Where did she last remember having it? She backtracked her time before she left with Clint and Nat. Coffee with Maria Hill, dinner with the team, then...

Duh! Jax smacked herself on the forehead. She'd been binging an awesome new show called Sense8 when she'd gotten the mission orders.

Doing one last mirror check, she ran a hand through her messy black hair and headed for the elevator.

"Jarvis, recreation floor three please."

"Yes, Miss Foster." The posh AI responded.

A moment later, Jax stepped out onto the floor where the Avengers spent the majority of their downtime, and then made a beeline for the tv area.

"There you are." She spotted her beloved leather jacket lying on the edge of the massive luxury couch. As she went to grab it, the elevator dinged from around the corner.

"Anyone here?" A familiar voice called out.

No way. That sounds like…

"Steve!"

As the red, white and blue boy scout came into view, Jax ran at him and jumped into a hug. Steve caught her easily and swung her around with a laugh.

"Good to see you, Jax! It's been a while." He set her down and flashed his impossibly perfect pearly whites.

"Well it's your fault for leaving me with the misfit squad so you could go on some secret manhunt with Sam."

"Yeah, funny you should mention that." Steve looked around the room. "Where is everyone?"

Jax shouldered her jacket. "Nat's out, Clint's asleep, I think Tony and Bruce are in the lab, and Thor went back to Asgard for a while."

"Shoot. I was hoping to tell everyone the news together."

"What news?" Jax asked when suddenly the elevator rang again. Out stepped Sam Wilson and some guy Jax didn't recognize. Jax bolted past Steve to wrap Sam in a hug.

"Hey Jax!" Sam hugged her back tightly, laughing lightly at her energetic greeting. "Been causing trouble while I was gone?"

"You know it." Jax grinned and fist-bumped him.

"We miss anything interesting?" Sam asked as Steve came over to join them.

"Nah, it's been pretty quiet since you left a few weeks ago." Jax scratched at a fresh cut on her arm from the day before. It always itched the most when they started scabbing. "Nat, Clint, and I actually just got back from a mission this morning."

Sam said something in return, but Jax didn't hear it as she snuck a few glances at the large stranger Sam had brought up with him, currently hovering between him and Steve. His shoulder-length brown hair was shaggy and matted, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a year. His eyes constantly surveyed the room, and Jax instinctively knew he was studying his surroundings, evaluating all the potential weapons and escape routes. It was a reflex found in many combat veterans.

His face tugged at something in the back of her mind. He seemed...familiar somehow. Also, she admitted to herself, he was pretty damn good-looking. Not many men could successfully rock the grungy strung-out look (at least not without coming across as gross and creepy). But he made it work oh-so-well. ( _Ugh_ , if only she was as good with guys as Ida was.)

Jax then observed the tightness of his shoulders and the tension in his jaw. The man was definitely on edge, like he was waiting for an attack. Just like her dad whenever he came home from a tour.

The guy flinched as Steve suddenly clapped him on the shoulder.

"Jax," Steve beamed. "I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Bucky Barnes."

"Wait," It finally clicked why his face was familiar. "Bucky Barnes? As in _the_ Bucky Barnes?"

The emotion in Steve's eyes was unmistakable as he nodded.

Jax couldn't believe it. Steve and Sam had spent the better part of a year now trying to locate the former Winter Soldier. She'd started worrying that it was just some wild goose chase.

Jax was so ecstatic with the news that she almost greeted Bucky with her trademark tackle-hug, but luckily she stopped herself just in time. From what she could see, Bucky probably wouldn't have appreciated it. She settled on giving him a warm smile instead. "Nice to finally meet you, Bucky. I'm Jax Foster."

Bucky blinked at her, then dropped his gaze. "Uh, nice to meet you too."

Yup. He's barely even started adjusting.

"Oh shit!" Jax saw the time on her phone. "As much as I'd love to stay and get acquainted, I gotta go." Jax slipped on her leather jacket and headed into the elevator. "See ya later, guys!"

"Bye!" Sam and Steve called out. Bucky just stared. She met his eye and gave him a little grin as the elevator doors slid shut. She looked forward to hopefully helping him come out of his shell.

Reaching the lobby, Jax took the hidden side door out of Avengers tower to avoid any paparazzi or fans staking out the main entrance.

The rest of her team had long since had their identities revealed to the world. But by some unbelievable miracle (plus the help of SHIELD's Nano Mask tech), Jax had managed to keep her real name a secret, only known to the public by her codename 'Silverfin'.

But that didn't stop reporters and superfans from _constantly_ trying to figure out who she really was. There were entire Internet forums dedicated to theories and discussions about Silverfin's true identity. But thanks to Tony's complex security measures and an algorithm that scoured the web for her face and deleted it, people only managed to get semi-blurry photos of her during fights. They might as well be snapshots of Bigfoot in some shitty science fiction tabloid (who Jax knows for a fact is actually just an Inhuman living deep in the Canadian wilderness).

Not even her family or friends knew the truth about her. When Jax has first joined SHIELD, she'd made the difficult decision to keep it a secret from the people in her life. They all thought that she was a pharmaceutical sales rep, and though really Jax hated lying to them, it was necessary for the kind of missions she often went on.

She sighed, shaking such heavy thoughts from her mind. Jax tucked her hands into her jacket pockets and started the brief trek to the aquarium.


	4. 3- Reunited And It Hurts Like Hell

_A/N: Everything except Ida and Jax belong to Marvel._

 _Co-written with riboflavinb2. Also available on Wattpad_

 _I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading._

* * *

 **Ch 3- Reunited (And It Hurts Like Hell)**

New York. The city that never shuts the fuck up.

He breathed in the hot stench of grime and desperation, his scar twinging.

She was here, in the city. He could feel it.

He'd been watching the fish girl for ten days now. Ida Emerson was an immaculate creature of habit, methodical in all her routines. (It always amazed him how much effort humans put into repetition, utterly ignorant to how vulnerable it made them.) After two days of observing from a distance, he took the time to case her apartment building as well as the aquarium, clocking floor plans, security, and the like. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

He found himself studying his current target with interest. This blonde aquarium scientist was apparently the person Silverfin valued most in the world. But despite their apparent closeness, there'd been no sign of his enemy whatsoever, even after following fish girl for over a week. This had caused a brief worry on his part that he might have made a mistake about her and Emerson's relationship, or maybe even that Silverfin was actually a step ahead, just lying in wait to kill him at any moment.

However when he cloned fish girl's phone, he discovered hundreds of texts exchanged with the woman in question.

His decision to clone the phone was rewarded once again when Emerson received a text from Silverfin, saying that she was en route back to the city and wanted to meet up.

He now sat two tables away from fish girl and her lunch date, an accountant named Clark Mills that lived in the same apartment building. He half-listened to their pointless first-date drivel, noting their agreement to meet up later that night, and simultaneously studied the the individuals that made up the crowd around him, keeping an eye out for potential threats, anomalies, or signs of a tail.

His heart spiked with anticipation when the target finally got up from her table. He quickly threw down some money for his meal then went about tailing her as she made her way back to the aquarium.

Now was the time.

Her guard would be down, because she thought this part of her life was safe, separate, untouched by the death and dangers of their world.

How naive.

* * *

Ida checked her phone. 2:30PM. She definitely still had enough time to prepare her next batch of ammonium hydroxide for the ongoing experiment the aquarium was involved in. Of course, she could always make Johnny, the intern, do it. But the last time he tried to dilute the 20X stock of ammonia, he got the math wrong and lost a whole day of testing. She didn't blame him; dilutions were always the most difficult part of laboratory work for her too, even though they were probably the easiest for many others.

Ida donned her laboratory coat and safety goggles. She squeezed nitrile gloves onto each hand, hearing the satisfying snap of the band on her wrist. Luckily, she had already drawn her hair up into her characteristic bun, so everything was out of her way to do her work.

She'd been working at this aquarium for ten years now. She snagged an internship when she was only a freshman in college, and they were so impressed with her that they kept inviting her back. They knew her work ethic, her passion of aquarial sciences, her skills. She quickly rose in ranks at the aquarium, now she managed a team. Every fish in that aquarium was her responsibility. And so was every research project that pertained to fish. Sea mammals she didn't know as much about. Bits and pieces she picked up from different classes and other aquarium employees, but she didn't think she could lecture on marine mammals for ten hours like she could with fish.

Ida unlocked the chemical cabinet and grabbed the stock solution of ammonium hydroxide. It was a rather large bottle, but still very concentrated. She pulled it out, locked the cabinet, and moved to the work bench. Here, Ida began to measure out the specified ammonium hydroxide and added it to the correct amount of water to make 1X, 3X, 5X, and 15X dilutions of the concentrate.

It was rather tedious work, and Ida was antsy. She hadn't seen her best friend (and maybe only friend) in a month and a half. If she could just get through these dilutions…

* * *

Jax pushed open the main doors of the aquarium, unable to subdue the smile on her face. The excitement and anticipation of finally seeing Ida after six weeks apart had her practically bouncing. The damp chemical air of the building washed over her as she waved to the portly security guard, George, and strode up to the front desk.

"Hello, how can I-oh! Hi there, Jax." One of the usual front desk attendants, Vanessa, greeted her with a smile. Jax was at the aquarium so often that all the employees knew her by name. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I know. I've practically lived on a plane for the past month with all the potential clients I've had to meet with." Jax lied smoothly. She leaned over the top of the glass barrier and nicked her usual guest pass. "Ida in the back?"

Vanessa nodded. "Seems like things are extra busy for her today."

Jax bid her goodbye and expertly navigated her way to the area not open to the public, where all the labs and facilities were housed. She swiped her pass and, as soon as the sensor flashed green, she lifted her foot with a wolfish grin. Then Jax kicked the door open with the force of leading an assault into enemy territory.

"Whatup bitch, I'm back!"

* * *

Ida jumped a foot in the air at the sudden slamming of a door, then she heard Jax's familiar shout. Luckily, Ida had just put down the solutions of ammonium hydroxide from her hands. Otherwise, there would be some nasty consequences, and Ida really didn't want chemicals burns today.

"Jesus Christ, Jax! You scared the urea out of me!" After calming her pounding heart, Ida smiled, happy to see her friend.

Jax's face scrunched up in disgust. "Ew, gross. Why can't you just call it pee like everyone else?"

Laughing and looking down at the solutions she had just brewed, Ida said, "Lemme finish up here. I have to put my ammonium hydroxide away."

"Sure, yeah, go right on and do that. But not before I do _THIS_!" Jax tackled Ida around the middle with such a big hug that it actually lifted her a few inches off the ground.

Ida actually squawked as she was crushed by her best friend's embrace. She still could not understand why a drug sales rep had to be fit as fuck, but somehow Jax managed it. Then Ida remembered that she was still in her Personal Protective Equipment, and that Jax shouldn't be touching her at all.

"Jax! Put me down! I could have extremely alkaline substances on my lab coat! It could basically burn your skin off." Ida lifted her gloved hands from Jax's shoulders, trying not to get any more liquid on her. "May I remind you that we have discussed this _at_ _length_ before?"

"Yeah yeah, chemical burns, internal bleeding, cancer in the ass. Blah blah blah, I know." Jax finally set her back down and stepped back the proper safe distance of three feet that Ida was always reminding her of. "But can you blame me? It's been over a month since I've seen you! That's like, criminal."

Ida was relieved to be back on solid ground again. "It's anal cancer, not 'cancer in the ass,' as you so eloquently stated. And nothing in this room could even cause anal cancer." She paused, finally catching her breath after that eventful greeting. "So how was your trip?"

Leaning against a lab station, Jax chuckled. "Oh you know, the usual. Fancy dinners with rich assholes, explaining drug research that no one ever understands, nonstop pencil skirts." Jax gave an appreciative rub of her jeans. "And of course, an endless amount of board meetings. What about you, how's the aquarium doing? I know y'all were having some issues last time I was here."

"Mr. Inky had to be isolated yet again." Ida reported. "He escaped his tank again this morning. Found him on the ceiling of the otter quarantine,"

"Good ol' Mr. Inky! Glad to hear he's keeping you entertained while I'm gone." Jax laughed. "But hurry up and finish what you're doing so we can go. Also, I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick." Jax flashed her a grin then headed off towards the restrooms.

"Watch for crossing octopi on your way there!" Ida called after her.

The aquarist turned back to her lab station, and started to clean up. She started to wrap parafilm on the top of her solutions, carefully stretching out the sheet to fit snugly on each container and taking as much time as she could. She would return to the research project after her outing with Jax and had to ensure it wouldn't spill or evaporate in the meantime.

She picked up the 15X dilution that had yet to be parafilmed and eyed the solution to make sure it was as precise as possible. The liquid sloshed in the glass beaker, but Ida was careful not to spill it.

She was just about to place the solution back onto the lab table when suddenly someone grabbed the top of her arm and yanked her backwards with unnatural strength. Ida was simultaneously unbalanced and surprised by the sudden interaction. She didn't even get a look at the guy before she accidentally flung the 15X beaker solution in his face, drenching the left side.

Ida screamed, and so did he. The man was large and muscular with dark olive skin, and she had never seen him before in her entire life. Dropping his hold on her, he reached for his face and desperately tried to rub the offending liquid away, his eyes clenched in pain.

This was bad news for the man, whoever he was. And it was all Ida's fault. "Shit!" she screamed. "You need to wash your eyes right now!"

How did he get back here? Why would he just grab someone like that? Did he not see the chemicals in her hands?

Ida noticed a spot of the ammonium hydroxide on her sleeve. Soon it would leak through and start to slough off the top layer of her epidermis soon. But she had bigger fish to fry at the moment.

The man was screaming even louder than before as trying to rub the liquid away caused even more pain. Ida grabbed his jacket sleeve and tried to pull him towards the eyewash station, but he didn't budge an inch. In fact, he actually leaned _away_ from her. The man had no idea that the longer the ammonium hydroxide was exposed to his sclera, the more opportunity he could be blind in that eye for the rest of his life.

She pulled even harder on his arm now. He shouldn't have grabbed her like that, but that didn't mean he deserved to be permanently disfigured and blind!

Her _proper safe distance of three feet_ wouldn't be so stupid to Jax now.


	5. 4- Shit Goes Sideways

_A/N: Everything except Ida and Jax belong to Marvel._

 _Co-written with riboflavinb2. Also available on_

 _Tell me what you think of 'Silverfin' as her hero name. I wanted something that sounded legit._

 _Throw me some feedback if you've got a sec! Thanks for reading :)_

* * *

 **Ch. 4- Shit Goes Sideways**

Jax was washing her hands when the screaming started.

Instinct had all her muscles tensing for attack. But she stopped and took a breath, forcing herself to calm down.

 _Chill out Jax_ , _someone probably just spilled some chemicals or something_. Or maybe Ida's intern Jimmy was having another meltdown. Either way, no need to go in guns blazing. _You're home, you're not out in the field._

But... just in case...

Jax slipped a throwing knife out of her boot and tucked it into her sleeve, then made her way back to the lab.

"Hey, everyone okay in here?" she stepped inside. "What's with all the scr-" She choked on the rest of her sentence as she saw the man standing next to Ida, recognizing his face before her brain could process anything else. Her blood ran cold, and the world faded away.

 **Novak**.

 _The blustering sands in Morocco. A rainy bridge over the Seine._

Impossible.

 _A feral grin. Eyes like the devil._

No. He couldn't be here. There's no way.

Then he looked at her.

" _ **IDA!**_ " The cry tore from her throat as she raced towards them. " _Get away from him!_ "

Her body moved on pure instinct— hurling the blade up her sleeve with practiced accuracy as she ran at him. The knife sunk into Novak's shoulder and he stumbled, immediately pulling a gun out of his coat. But before he got the chance to use it Jax tackled him at full speed with a roar.

They crashed to the ground, Novak's gun clattering away. Rolling with the momentum, Jax yanked the KA-BAR from the back of her waistband and rushed him. He dodged every swipe of her blade then swiveled, catching her arm in a lock and slamming her wrist against a cabinet until the knife fell from her hand.

Jax and Novak exchanged blows back and forth, doing their usual dance of being way too evenly matched. It continued to escalate until they got stuck in a momentary deadlock, but Jax got the upper hand by kneeing him in the stomach— right where she'd ripped him open last year. Novak doubled over and she struck him in the face with a side-fist, then propelled him back with a powerful front kick. She kept on him, forcing him to retreat with a barrage of strikes, all of which he just barely managed to dodge or block in time.

It wasn't until Jax had backed Novak into a table that she realized he was slower than usual, sloppy even. He had one of his eyes squeezed shut, and the left half of his face had turned red and was starting to swell. Something was wrong, and it was throwing him off his game.

Just when Jax thought she might have him beat, Novak caught her punch and swung her around, using her own momentum to throw her across the table. Jax's body scattered everything atop the lab station, crashing into all the beakers and tubes before she rolled off and hit the ground.

She choked out a painful groan. Her clothes were soaked with chemicals and bits of glass were cutting into her skin. But she had to move, she had to get up. Ida was still in danger. Novak was going to kill her!

Jax was about to pull another throwing knife out of her boot when she spotted Novak's gun lying a few feet away, and immediately grabbed it. She launched to her feet and took aim.

In the split second that she squeezed the trigger, Novak dove behind a nearby counter. But Jax kept her gun trained on the man's hiding spot— waiting, listening, trying to anticipate his next move.

Suddenly the lab doors burst open as a security guard ran in. "What the _sam hell_ is going on in here?"

Novak moved before Jax could even shout in warning. A blur shot through the air, and the knife— _her_ knife— that Novak had yanked from his own shoulder was now protruding from the security guard's stomach.

Ida's scream erupted from across the room where she was still standing, frozen to the spot. Jax looked over at her, worried that she might be hurt, but there was only her best friend's horrified expression.

In the second that Jax looked away, Novak was already halfway to the door. She fired off three more shots but they merely nipped at his heels as he fled into the aquarium.

 _Goddammit!_

Jax hurried over to Ida, broken glass crunching loudly under her boots. "Are you hurt?!" Blood rushed through her ears. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. "I said _are you hurt?!_ "

* * *

Ida was faintly aware of eyes staring at her eyes, of a voice yelling at her. She wasn't sure what was going on. She felt like she was underwater — everything moved more slowly and sounds barely carried through the air. She was underwater, and she couldn't breathe.

Ida felt her arm burning. Like skin was peeling off. The sudden pain reminded her where she was, what had just happened.

Jax had attacked (expertly, she might add) a man that just stabbed Robert the security guard in the stomach. She had spilled ammonium hydroxide on the man's face and her own arm, and now it had started to slough off layers of skin. Her eyes grew wide in understanding — reality snapped to focus. Her friend's question finally reached her ears.

"You need to wash your hands. Right now!" Ida blurted. She didn't respond to Jax's question, but whether she was okay or not wasn't important at the moment. "You have a high concentration of ammonium hydroxide on your hands, and you need to wash them before it burns!"

Ida ignored the burning of her own arm and rushed past Jax towards the security guard. She needed to help him. Assess the injury. Apply pressure to the wound, working around the knife without moving it. Call 911. Assure him that he would be okay and that help would be on the way.

On the way to Robert, she grabbed two large towels from a cabinet that were typically there for divers. She yanked out her cell phone and dialed 911.

"911, What's your emergency?"

Ida dropped to her knees beside Robert. He was sitting upright and clutching his stomach where the knife was jutting out from.

"A man has been stabbed at the Brooklyn Aquarium. We are in the lab room in the back. I'm tending to the wound now."

Ida smiled weakly at Robert, who just looked back at her in shock. She took one of the towels and laid it around the knife wound, and then she applied pressure with the palm of her hand.

"Where is the assailant? Are you safe?" the operator asked.

"On foot, running from us." She answered, suddenly realizing that Jax wasn't in the room anymore. "The stab wound is on the righthand side of his abdomen. The knife is still in, and I'm applying pressure to the wound. He is still conscious."

"I've dispatched authorities and an ambulance. Help is on the way."

"Thank you." She gave the operator her phone number, but then had to hang up so she could focus on Robert's wound.

Ida didn't concern herself with whatever Jax might be doing. She honestly didn't think she could even begin to process all that right now. She did, however, need to make sure Robert was doing okay.

"Robert, stay calm. You're going to be alright. Help is coming."

Robert nodded, sweat pouring down his face.

Ida just continued to keep pressure on the wound.

* * *

The fact that Ida was yelling at her about her own possible injuries proved to Jax that Ida wasn't hurt. That, and Jax had already inspected her friend from top to bottom about five times— deeming her unharmed— before Ida had ever even snapped out of her stupor. It was the only reason she hadn't blown a gasket when Ida didn't answer her.

But Jax was far from calm. The rage and panic she felt set everything on fire.

He was here. He was actually here. Not in front of Silverfin, but in front of Jax Foster.

But any and all official documents listed Jackie Foster as a sales representative for BlueLine Pharmaceuticals. There was absolutely nothing to suggest that she was anything but a normal twenty-seven-year-old living in New York City. She even had fake social media accounts for God's sake! How could her name have not only been leaked, but leaked to the one person who wanted her dead probably more than anybody else on the planet?

And he'd gone after Ida.

Fuck. Fucking fuck of a _fuck_. This can't be happening.

 _Stop it, Jax — calm down. Now is not the time to freak out_. She could worry about the rest of it later, right now she needed to focus. Novak was here, and she had to catch him.

Novak was prideful, arrogant even, but he wasn't stupid. She knew that he realized he couldn't beat her in his current condition— chemically burned, stabbed, and on her home turf no less. At their best they were evenly matched, a fact that she had begrudgingly come to accept over their many encounters throughout the years. And he hadn't survived to become one of the world's most infamous mercenaries without knowing when to cut his losses and retreat.

Sprinting past all of the exhibits, Jax kept a finger hovering over the trigger, on the off chance that Novak or any other potential enemies tried to catch her by surprise.

The dark, tank-lit hallways finally opened to reveal the main lobby. It would have looked like any other day, except that there was something going on in the center of the room where a number of aquarium-goers were gathered. Getting closer, Jax could see George and one of Ida's younger lab lackeys kneeling by an older couple on the floor.

After scanning the room for any threats, any signs of Novak, Jax slipped her gun into the back of her waistband so that it was hidden from view. People _always_ panicked at the sight of a gun, and nothing was more stupid or more dangerous than a group of scared and confused civilians. Jax was definitely not in the headspace to coddle civies right now.

"What happened?" Jax barked as she approached them.

George jumped, hand reaching for his security baton until he saw that it was her. "Oh, Jax, I didn't recognize your voice. Well, a strange man just ran through here and knocked this couple over before running out the front door." George motioned to the elderly man and woman that the group of people were helping to their feet. "Didn't even stop to apologize! The nerve of some people nowadays."

Jax's jaw tightened. "Huge dude? Short dark hair, blue jacket, something wrong with his eye and shoulder?"

"Um, yeah actually. How did you know?"

 _Damn_.

Ignoring him, Jax stepped off to the side and whipped out her phone, pressing the speed-dial for SHIELD Command.

"Hello." The automated voice said. "The number you have reached—"

"Code 0-7-9." Jax interrupted. "Foster: Level 8."

"Authorization?" the voice inquired.

"Mike Alpha Kilo Oscar, 5-1-3 Bravo."

"Authorization confirmed." A tone chimed and then a live person picked up. "Report."

Jax gave a quick debrief of everything that had just occurred.

"Alright, Agent Foster, a team is en route to your location now."

"Acknowledged. I'll keep the area secure until they arrive."

Jax hung up and tucked the phone back into her pocket, then went over and grabbed George by the elbow, tugging him away from the other civilians.

"George, I'm going to need you to listen to me carefully and calmly." She said in a hushed tone. "Robert's been stabbed, back in the main lab. Ida is with him, trying to help as best she can. She's already called 911, so an ambulance will be here in probably ten minutes, as well as authorities."

George gaped at her like one of Ida's fish.

Jax shook him by the arm. "Keep it together, man. Things are about to become a nuthouse in here, and people will be looking to you for direction."

George closed his mouth. It must have finally clicked that what she was saying was indeed actually happening and that he— the only other security guard on duty— was now responsible for a very serious situation.

Jax looked him dead in the eye, keeping her voice steady. "First, make an announcement over the PA, calmly, for all visitors and employees to immediately come to the lobby. Tell them it's an evacuation drill or a tank leak or something, whatever won't freak them out. Then I want you to lock down the lobby; _nobody_ in or out except for EMS. Can you do that?"

George looked like was was about to nod, then faltered. "But that's not our protocols for an incident like this."

Jax ground her teeth in frustration — this was so not her area of expertise. "I know it's not, but do it anyway."

"But I have to follow the security protocols set by the aquarium-."

Jax whipped her SHIELD badge out from its hiding spot in the back of her bra and shoved it into George's face. "Do you see this? It says I'm a federal agent, which means that if I tell you to screw your protocols and do what I say, then that's what you're going to do!"

Jax felt the tiniest twinge of guilt for being such an asshole to George and pulling the federal agent card on him, but right now nothing else mattered except for catching up to Novak.

George's expression was caught between surprise at her revelation and disgruntled by her attitude. "Fine," he finally replied.

She nodded, stuffing her SHIELD badge into her back pocket. "I'll be back in the lab with Ida and Robert. Radio me over Robert's walkie if there's any problems."

With that, Jax made her way back to the lab, her mind torn between thoughts about the fact that her greatest foe had just attempted to kill her best friend, and that after all this time Ida had finally discovered her secret— in pretty much the worst way possible.

 _Oh man._ Ida was so gonna kill her.


End file.
